A couple has been arraigned for allegedly impersonating the First Lady of Katsina State, Fatima Dikko Radda, to defraud victims of N197,750,000.
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Daily News 24 reports that the EFCC disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, stating that Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq and Hafsat Kabir Lawal were arraigned before Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court on Monday, March 10, 2025. They were charged alongside Abdullahi Bala and Ladani Akindele on six counts of obtaining money by false pretense, money laundering, and stealing.
The EFCC alleged that Hafsat posed as the Katsina governor’s wife and defrauded a petitioner, Aminu Usman, of N89 million by claiming to have $53,300 for exchange. She also reportedly obtained N108 million from another victim, claiming to have $118,300 available for sale.
Investigations revealed that Hafsat’s husband, Sadiq, allegedly provided her with SIM cards registered under the name Fatima Dikko Radda on Truecaller. He then contacted Akindele, a former colleague at a commercial bank, to obtain the contact of the Chairman of Unity Bank, Hafiz Bashir. This connection led them to their target, a bureau de change operator.
The funds were allegedly deposited into the bank account of Bala and later laundered.
The court ordered the defendants to be remanded in a correctional facility and adjourned the case to March 17, 2025, for the hearing of bail applications.
